Men's Basketball vs. Utica
NCAA Tournament First Round | Glassboro Regional
Friday, March 3 | 5 p.m.
Esbjornsen Gymnasium | Glassboro, N.J.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson travels to Glassboro, N.J., for the opening weekend of the 2023 NCAA Tournament beginning on Friday.
• The Beavers face Utica while regional host Rowan (22-5) takes on Cal Lutheran (13-13) in the other first round matchup.
• Friday's winners will meet in the second round on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 1-0 in the all-time series thanks to a 74-63 win over the Pioneers on December 29, 2012, in Utica, N.Y.

BABSON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Beavers are making their seventh appearance since 2014 and are back in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season (excluding 2020-21) and 12th time overall in program history.
• Babson claimed the school's first national championship with a 79-78 win over Augustana (Ill.) in 2017 after advancing to the national semifinals in 2015.
• The Green and White also reached the Sweet 16 in 2002 and 2016 and lost to eventual national champions Randolph-Macon in the second round of last year's tournament.
• The Beavers are 5-4 in NCAA first round games and defeated DeSales, 80-67, last season.

UTICA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• The Pioneers are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 and just the second time in program history.
• Utica defeated Gordon and WPI to reach the Sweet 16 before suffering a 94-78 loss to Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (18-8) has won 11 of its last 12 games and defeated then-21st-ranked WPI, 59-53, last Saturday in the NEWMAC Tournament final.
• Sophomore Nate Amado hit five three-pointers and scored 17 points and senior Aaron Gao added 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Beavers, who led by as many as 12 late in the first half.
• Amado (17.1 pts, 6.5 reb) is shooting 45.9 percent on the year, senior Andrew Kirkpatrick (15.0 pts, 2.8 ast) averaged 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in two conference tournament games, and graduate student Ryan Cibull (10.4 pts, 3.1 ast) is connecting on a team-high 42.5 of his three-point attempts this winter.
• The Green and White ranks 22nd in Division III in defensive efficiency allowing 0.90 points per possession and 28th nationally in scoring defense (63.9 points).

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
• Utica (22-4) captured its second consecutive Empire 8 regular season title before getting upset by St. John Fisher, 70-65, in the conference semifinals last Friday.
• Darius Hopkins scored 17 points, Avery Coston drilled four three-pointers on the way to scoring 14 points and Thomas Morreale and Dayion Thompson both added 11 for the Pioneers, who led by 10 with under 13 minutes remaining.
• Justice Brantley (15.9 pts, 7.7 reb) leads the team in both assists and steals, Morreale (13.8 pts, 5.7 reb) is shooting 51.4 percent from the floor and Hopkins (12.4 pts, 2.2 reb) has knocked down a team-high 38 three-pointers this winter.
• Utica ranks 19th nationally committing just 10.9 turnovers per game and is 20th in Division III in free throws made per game (15.7).

KIRKPATRICK NAMED TO NEWMAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
• The Beavers' second-leading scorer, Kirkpatrick was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference second team when the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday.
• He is averaging a career-high 15.0 points on 42.5 percent shooting to go along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals on the year.
• Kirkpatrick ranks eighth in the NEWMAC in scoring and hit double figures in 23 of 27 contests, which includes scoring at least 20 points six times.

GROWING STRONGER THROUGH EARLY STRUGGLES
• After losing multiple players to injuries and missed game time, the Beavers were 8-7 overall and 1-3 in league play following a loss to Wheaton on January 14.
• The Green and White rallied from a 17-point deficit while holding MIT to just three field goals in the second half and overtime in a 62-52 victory that started a stretch of 11 wins over its final 12 games.
• Babson gave up 59.1 points and just 0.84 points per possession over its final 12 games while holding opponents to 39.5 shooting and forcing 15.6 turnovers per outings.

TOURNAMENT TESTED
• Amado, who was selected as the NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is averaging 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor. He averaged a double-double in two NCAA Tournament games last March (14.0 pts, 10.0 reb) and went 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in last week's conference tournament.
• Kirkpatrick is averaging 12.3 points on 47.1 percent shooting in seven career postseason games, while Gao has also played in seven postseason games and contributed 8.5 points, 5.5 boards and 3.5 assists in the NEWMAC Tournament.

VETERAN SNIPERS
• The trio of Kirkpatrick, Gao and Cibull has combined to shoot 45.5 percent from beyond the arc over the last 12 games.
• Cibull has buried at least one triple in 11 of 12 contests, Kirkpatrick has at least one trifecta in six straight games and Gao has connected on two or more four times during this stretch.

JERSEY BOYS
• The Glassboro Regional will serve as a homecoming for New Jersey natives Gao, sophomore David Cross and first-year Mark Woolhouse, as well as fellow rookie Tyler Lauder who hails from Malvern, Pa., which is less than an hour from Rowan.

CLEANING THE GLASS
• Lauder, who missed eight games due to injury in November and December, has pulled down six or more rebounds in 10 of Babson's last 12 games and has grabbed 25 offensive boards during this stretch.
• First-year Timmy O'Toole is averaging a team-high 6.9 rebounds and has hauled down three or more offensive boards 12 times in 26 games this winter.

PLAYING FROM IN FRONT
• Babson trailed for a grand total of just one minute and 45 seconds in last week's NEWMAC Tournament wins over Emerson and WPI.
• The Beavers have led by double figures at halftime in each of their last four outings and six times in all over their last 11 games going back to January 21.

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND
• Friday's first round contest against Utica marks the sixth time in Babson's NCAA Tournament history that it will take on a team from New York.
• The Beavers are 3-2 in their five previous games, which includes a second round win over Union in 2002, a first round victory over fellow Empire 8 member Hartwick in 2016 and a second round triumph over Skidmore on the way to winning the program's first Division III national title in 2017.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers have won seven of their last eight games and are 11-6 overall away from home this winter.
• Babson is 11-2 this season when forcing 16 or more turnovers.
• The Beavers are 13-3 on the year when shooting at least 40 percent from the floor.
• The Green and White is 15-3 when holding its foes to 64 points or less on the year.
• Babson is 17-2 going back to the start of last season when making nine or more three-point field goals.
• The Beavers are 7-1 this winter in games decided by six points or less or in overtime.

TICKETS
• Doors will open at 4 p.m. on Friday and tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens, students and children.